Napa Valley Turkey Salad Recipe

Your family is going to love this Napa Valley Turkey Salad Recipe! Whip up a big batch on meal planning days for easy lunches during the week. Creamy and slightly sweet with a great crunch from the almonds and celery this is a family favorite.

I was recently having a discussion with one of my girlfriends about meal planning. She’s a busy mom, like me, and each week she sits down, plans out 3-4 recipes that her family will eat for dinner the following week and does batch cooking on Sunday afternoons. I wish I had that dedication. 

I used to be really good about meal planning. We have a bulletin board in our kitchen which has each day of the week listed on it along with an envelope full of recipe cards. On each of the recipe cards it lists a meal idea, the ingredients needed for the meal, along with where you can find the recipe (in a specific cookbook, Pinterest, my head, etc). The Hubs and I used to sit down on Saturday morning, pick out what we wanted to eat the following week, do up a grocery list and shop for the week. 

Then came June 2014 and all my meal planning expertise went out the window. This was the month that I left my job to become a full-time blogger. Suddenly I was home during the day and had the luxury of being a bit more spontaneous with my meal planning and preparation. I stocked my fridge and freezer with healthy ingredients, had my husband get protein out of the freezer each morning and made a game out of creating a meal from scratch using the ingredients in my pantry and fridge. Our poor bulletin board still has the recipe cards hanging on it from week that I left work! When people come over they say how organized we are, and I laugh! 

As my kids are getting older, I’ve put them in charge of making their own breakfast on school mornings and snacks after school. I’ve found that prepping healthy options for them to choose from gives me the piece of mind of knowing that they will make smart choices. This especially comes in handy when the kids are off school for Pro-D days or school breaks when I still have to work, but they are home kicking around. 

I don’t know about your kids, but mine are always hungry. I found that they were coming to my office every 30 minutes asking for something to eat. Now I have healthy snack options all prepped in the fridge and on the counter so that they can help themselves! 

Which brings me to today’s recipe for my Napa Valley Turkey Salad. A couple of years ago, when my sister was getting married, my mom and I created this recipe for my sister’s bridal shower. It was inspired by Trader Joe’s Wine Country Chicken Salad, but is completely reimagined. Since my sister’s wedding, this recipe has become a family favorite. My Napa Valley Turkey Salad Recipe is creamy, slightly sweet but with a nice tang, and has a great crunch. The way I cook the turkey for this recipe seals in all of the juices and results in the most delicious turkey you’ve ever tasted. You are going to love it! 

I have so much fun experimenting with Canadian turkey and substituting it in recipes for other protein sources. Have you checked out the turkey section at your local grocery store lately? I’m constantly surprised by all of the interesting different cuts of turkey they have! Not only is turkey delicious, it’s also a great lean nutrient packed protein source that keeps my family energized all day long.

This recipe is so versatile that my family has eaten it as breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time choices! My kids love the turkey salad on a croissant. My husband’s favorite way to eat it is as a wrap. I personally love cutting a bell pepper in half and filling it with turkey salad for a bread free version. I’ve also eaten it on top of my favorite greens for a delicious salad. 

Why the name Napa Valley Turkey Salad? I thought that I’d play on the name of the Wine Country Salad from Trader Joe’s. My version, of course uses turkey and has sliced grapes and almonds in it. Something about those last two ingredients reminded me of Napa Valley, so the name was born.  

It’s also really quick and easy to make! Slice your grapes and celery and make your dressing while the turkey cooks for super easy assembly. Whip up a double batch and keep it in your fridge for easy meals throughout the week. 

Want even more turkey inspiration? Check out the Canadian Turkey website for tons of great ideas including  recipes that use slow cookers, pressure cookers, tabletop grills, and pans for one-pot meals!

Ready to learn how to make my Napa Valley Turkey Salad Recipe? Read on! 

 Napa Valley Turkey Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 pound Canadian Turkey Breast Fillet

-1 tablespoon of olive oil 

-1 tablespoon of butter

-1 cup sliced almonds

-1 cup seedless grapes, sliced

-1 cup celery, split long ways down the rib and then sliced into thin pieces

-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

-1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

-2 teaspoons of your favorite natural liquid sweetener (we used agave nectar)

-salt and pepper to taste

Optional: your favorite fresh herbs, chopped (we used dill)

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes. Serves: 6

Directions:

Step 1: Pat turkey breast fillets with a paper towel to dry them off. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Place frying pan with a lid on your stove on medium high heat. Put olive oil and butter in the pan. When butter has melted, swirl butter and olive oil around the pan. Lower temperature to medium and put turkey breast fillets into the frying pan. Cook the first side for 1 minute. Lower temperature to low. Flip the turkey breast, cover pan with the lid and cook for 10 minutes. When 10 minutes is up, remove the pan from the heat and allow to sit covered for another 10 minutes. 

Note: If using full turkey breasts instead of turkey breast fillets, pound your turkey breast with a meat tenderizer first to flatten breasts so they are approximately 1/2 to 1 inch thick. 

Step 2: Remove turkey from the frying pan and allow to cool on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Once turkey has cooled, slice it into cubes.

Step 3: Put turkey, grapes, almonds and celery into a bowl and toss gently. 

Step 4: Pour mayonnaise, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and agave into a bowl. Stir until combined. This will be your dressing.

Step 5: Pour the dressing over your turkey mixture. Add herbs and toss gently until turkey salad is coated in dressing. 

Serve your Napa Valley Turkey Salad on bread, croissants, as a wrap, in a bell pepper cup or on top of a bed of greens. Enjoy! 

[hr gap=”30″]Tell me… What is your favorite way to prepare turkey? Do you meal prep? What kind of meals and snacks do you pre-make for your family to enjoy while you’re busy? [hr gap=”30″]

Like this post? We’d love for you to pin it for later! 

Looking for more Canadian Turkey Recipe inspiration? Visit CanadianTurkey.ca and check out our other recipes using our favorite protein! 

Apple Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Breasts

Coconut Lime Turkey Kababs

How To Brine and Cook The Perfect Turkey

Mango Cashew Turkey Curry

Disclosure: Thank you to Canadian Turkey for working with us on this post. As with all articles on Hello Creative Family, all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own!